Red Bull favored as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes bring Austin upgrades
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 23, 2026
McLaren upgrades arrive
McLaren arrives in Austin with modest upgrades and plenty to protect. The reigning constructors’ champions are trying to stop a slide, hold third place in the standings and slow Red Bull’s late-season push. The timing matters because McLaren’s lead over Red Bull has shrunk from 76 points to seven after the first three races of the triple header. McLaren did not reach the podium in any of those races, while Red Bull banked four top-three finishes, including two wins by Max Verstappen. That swing has shifted the mood around the team, even with Austin set up as a friendlier stop for McLaren’s car. Rob Marshall said the new package is aimed at improving braking reliability and performance, and it includes small changes to the floor. That may sound minor, but McLaren needs clean gains now. The gap in the standings has tightened fast, and every point matters in a fight that has turned into a late-season chase rather than a comfortable defense.
Mercedes response package
Mercedes brings its latest upgrade package to Austin with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in mind. Toto Wolff said the team wants to answer after difficult weekends in Malaysia and Singapore, a stretch that left Mercedes looking for a sharper step forward. Wolff also called the 2026 Formula 1 field “incredibly close,” and that has been the theme behind much of the weekend buildup. Small gains can change the order, and Mercedes is treating Austin as a chance to reset its trajectory. The team needs more speed and more consistency from its package if it wants to keep pressure on the front runners and stay in the mix in a field that leaves little room for mistakes. Ferrari is chasing the same kind of progress. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both described Ferrari’s Austin floor upgrade as only a very small step forward. That leaves Ferrari with work to do, even with the team bringing something new to the car. In a competitive field, tiny gains can matter, but they do not guarantee a jump up the order.
Track limits tighten
Track limits could shape the weekend as much as the upgrades. Circuit of the Americas has already shown how quickly the issue can take control of a race, and 32 laps were deleted there last year because drivers went beyond the limits. That kind of enforcement turns every exit from a corner into a risk and puts more pressure on teams to balance speed with precision. It also raises the stakes for the upgrade packages arriving in Austin. The new packages will face added pressure in a field where small margins matter. Red Bull, meanwhile, comes in as the likely race favorite. Austin now looks like a test of who can manage the pressure best, who can make the most of a tighter field and who can stay within the lines when the circuit starts demanding discipline.
